Dragon Tales: The Dragon's Kiss
by SterlingSilverWolf
Summary: A lonely girl Amora, lives bad part of town is given a mysterious gift by her grandmother, which leads her on an adventure she'll never forget.
1. Chapter 1

_**Dragon Tales: The Dragon's Kiss.**_

_**Chapter 1**_

Amora, a girl of 19, was sitting in her bedroom, alone, as usual. It was a lovely, balmy summer Saturday night, and most of the other folks were out having fun. Not her. She was stuck here, again. Amora was an average sized, slender built young woman with long hair of raven black and eyes of golden brown. She was named Amora, for she filled her parent's lives with love. But she lived with her grandmother Lorena, in California. Both of her parents died when she was young in a car wreck.. She still missed them terribly. "Amora?" a female voice called. She turned and saw her grandmother, a kindly woman of 78, standing behind her. "Why are sitting here by yourself _minieta_? she asked. "Just thinking." Amora said. "About what?" her grandmother asked."My parents." she said. A tear came to her eye. "I see." her grandmother said, She sat down on the bed next to Amora. Amora put her arms around her. "It'll be ok _querida_." said her grandmother. "It doesn't seem that way A_buelita_." said Lorena. She sighed. Her life was so lonely. If only she could find loyal friends like when she was a child. Her grandmother hugged her. She felt terrible for her. Lorena, then thought of something. "I have something you might like." she said. "Hmm?" Amora asked. "Follow me." her grandmother said. "What is it?" Amora asked. Lorena chuckled. "You'll see." she said.

They rose from the bed and went to Lorena's room. Amora followed. She looked confused. Grandma Lorena held up a small red and yellow box. It had dragon designs on it. " "What's that?" Amora asked. "Open it and see." her grandmother said. Lorena took the box and opened it. Inside was a silver scale-like object that seemed to glow magically. "What's this?" she asked, very curious. "This _mi nieta_," Lorena said. "is a dragon scale." Amora was skeptical. "Right." she said. She closed the box. "_Abuelita_, I love you, but I highly doubt this is a dragon anything." "Oh, mi nieta." her grandmother said. "There are things in this world that are more wondrous than anything." She smiled.  
"Give it a try, and you'll see." Amora looked at the scale. She nodded. "Ok." She said. "_Gracias Abuelita."_" Amora left her grandma's room and returned to her own. She was still skeptical about the scale. Amora sat the box on her bed. She pulled out one of her favorite romance novels and began to read. Reading romance novels was one of Amora's favorite pastimes, as well as music. She immersed herself in the story, feeling the love and the pain of each character. Amora sighed. "I wish I could fall in love like that." she said. A tear escaped her eye. She wiped it away. Amora sighed once more. She then looked at the box that her grand mother gave her. Amora took it and opened it. The dragon scale shone in it's brilliance. Amora scoffed. "Magic." she said under her breath. She closed the wooden box and put it under he bed. It was getting late. "I'd better go to bed. Nothing else to do." she thought. Amora changed into night clothes and knelt beside her bed to say her prayers.

"Dear God." she said. "I don't ask for much, but I want to ask you to give me strength. "I just don't feel strong anymore and I know I need it to serve you. So please, help me be strong again." Amora sighed and continued to pray. "And one more thing, please help me find the one I'm meant to be with." she said. "In the Lord's name I ask, Amen."

Amora crawled into her bed sheets and rested her head on her pillows. Before sleeping she looked at a picture of her and her parents on her nightstand. She remembered them so well. Her thoughts turned to when she was a little girl.

She began to think of her mother. She remembered her lovely raven hair and deep brown eyes. Amora, then thought of her father. She remembered how he used to play with her when he came home from work. He always made time to be with her. But what Amora remembered the most, was that every night before she went to bed, her mother sang to her to help her sleep. Amora began to hum the tune to her mom's lullaby. She soon began to sing it softly.

"_Buenas noches, mi hija, no temen a la noche  
"A la luz del día viene pronto, todos serán a la luz  
"Siempre debe venir el alba, por lo que todos pueden ver  
"La belleza de la creación de Dios, para usted y para mí."_

In English it could be translated to:

"_Good night, my daughter, don't fear the night  
_"_For daylight comes soon, all will be in light  
_"_Always must come the dawn, so all may see  
_"_The beauty of God's creation, for you and for me_

A tear came to her eye again. How Lorena longed for those days. She sighed and closed her eyes allowing sleep to take her.

The next day was Sunday. Amora arose to a knocking at her door. She rose from her bed and stretch her arms. Knocking was heard again. "_Mi nieta, _it's time to wake up." Her grandmother said through her door. "I'm up." said Amora. "I'm up." "Breakfast is ready." Lorena said. "All right. I'll be there in a second." Amora replied. She got some clean clothes before stepping in the shower. Since it was Sunday, she had to get ready for Church. She washed herself well, before drying off and dressing. Amora was soon ready, and went to the kitchen for breakfast. "_Buenos dias querida._" Grandma Lorena greeted. "You too Grandma." Amora said. "How are you this morning?" Lorena asked. "I've been better." Amora said. "Thinking about your folks again?" her grandmother asked. "Yeah." her granddaughter replied. "I wish they were still here." Grandma Lorena smiled warmly. "I know _mi nieta_." she said. "So do I." Amora at her breakfast, pancakes with syrup. After breakfast, Lorena cleaned up and they left for church.

The service was lovely. Amora sat in the pew with her grandmother, following along with the prayers and sermon. "My brothers and sisters." The minister began. "In today's sermon, I'd like to talk to you about something that we all need in our lives; love." Amora listened with open ears. The minister spoke about how love is not just the romance stuff read in books. "The Scriptures tell us how the Lord wants us to love." he said. "1 Corinthians 13:4-7." All attendants, including Amora, turned to that passage in the Bible. Amora put her finger on the passage. It read: "_Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." _

Love means putting others before yourself." The minister continued. "It means being able to sacrifice for others, no matter what the sacrifice entails." Amora thought about what he was saying. What the minister said even made her smile. She hoped she could find that kind of love. The service was soon over. Lorena and Amora left the church after bidding the minister farewell. "Lovely sermon." Lorena said. "Mm-hmm." said Amora. "And a lovely message." her grandmother said. "It's a shame so many today don't take it to heart." "No kidding." Amora agreed. When the two got home, Amora quickly changed to some casual clothes. She sat down on the couch, still thinking about the sermon. Her thoughts became interrupted when her grandmother asked her for a favor. "Yes Abuelita?" Amora asked. "I need you to go to _el mecardo _(the market) and pick up some _jugo de naranja _(orange juice)." said Grandma Lorena.

"Ok, I'll be back." She said, kissing Lorena before grabbing her purse leaving.

The walk to the market wasn't far. Amora kept an eye out though. The neighborhood wasn't the best, and she didn't want to run into unsavory types. She managed to safely make it to the market. Amora bought the orange juice she needed and was soon on her way back home. She felt nervous as she passed some rough looking men. She didn't even look at them. But the men looked at her. Amora tried to ignore them, but it was still nerve wracking. The men followed her. Amora was getting tired of this. She turned around to the men. "Buzz off." she said. They continued to follow her. "I said get lost, you _cabrones_." she said. "Tough girl aren't you?" one of the guys asked. "Get her purse." said another guy. Amora heard him so she did what she had to do. Run. "Get her!" They yelled. Amora ran for her life. She ran around in different directions. She didn't want to risk getting her grandmother in danger. The men pursued her. Somehow, she managed to double back and hide in a dumpster. Good thing it was cleaned out. The men gave up the chase. There was better pickings anyhow. Amora peeked out of the dumpster to see if the coast was clear. She sighed. "I hate this neighborhood." she said. Amora crawled out of the dumpster and walked home once again. She walked inside and gave a heavy sigh. "_Abuelita_, I have the juice." Amora called. Lorena walked to the door where her granddaughter was. "Ah, good." she said. Then she noticed she was dirty. "_Querida_, what happened?" " I was chased by these…goons, and I had to hide in a dumpster." said Amora. "Oh dear." Lorena said. "Muggers?" Amora nodded. She looked to the floor and a tear fell from her eye. "Oh _querida_." Lorena said. She wrapped her granddaughter in a hug. She didn't care that she was a little dirty. "Why does this place have to be so dangerous?" Amora sobbed.

She hugged her grandmother back. "Things will be better." said Grandma Lorena. "I promise." "I hope so." Amora cried. "They will." said Lorena. "Remember, there are things in this world that are more wondrous than anything." Amora nodded. Her thoughts then went to the scale. She was still skeptical about magic. However, curiosity began to take hold. Amora looked at her grandmother. Lorena winked at her. "Excuse me." said Amora. "I'll be back." Lorena giggled as her grand daughter went straight to her room. Amora dove under her bed and pulled out the box. She opened it, revealing the silvery scale. "How does this thing work?" Amora asked herself. She pulled the scale from it's cushion and sat it down on her bed. She then noticed an inscription written on the inside of the box lid. It read: "_I wish, I wish, with all my heart, to fly with dragons in a land apart." _

"Hmm." Amora said. "It can't hurt." She picked up the scale and looked at it. It's shine was so lovely, she saw her reflection on it. Amora took a deep breath and recited the inscription "I wish, I wish, with all my heart, to fly with dragons in a land apart." she said. At first nothing happened. But then, the scale began to glow brightly. Amora gasped. She found herself surrounded by what seemed to be, dragons of different colors swirling around her. "What's going on?" Amora exclaimed. The dragons began to swirl around her even faster, creating a brilliant display of light. Sparkles of green light appeared. "Whooaaaaaa!!!" She cried as the light began to overtake her. Soon, in a brilliant flash, she was gone. After Amora disappeared, her grandmother came to her room. She noticed the box she gave her was open. Lorena giggled. "Have fun _mi nieta_." she said.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

Amora found herself in a in a meadow she had never seen before. She looked around in wonder. "What is this place?" she asked herself. It looked like it came straight out of a fantasy story. There were strange creatures fluttering about in the sky. Amora took a few steps back. "What are those things?" She thought to herself. Memories of her father's stories about chupacabras came back to her. She was nervous. She looked for a place to hide. She spotted a nearby shrub that was bushy enough to hide her. Hoping the creatures hadn't seen her, she dove into the shrub.

Meanwhile in the sky, four dragons were happily zipping through the clouds, looping and laughing as they soared. Three human children rode on their backs. Why three when there's four dragons you may ask? This is because one child was riding a two headed dragon. Both with different personalities. "Higher!" The child yipped happily. "You sure about that?" one of the heads asked. "Oh c'mon Zaky." the other head said. "The higher the better!" This head was a female. The other a male. You guessed it. It was none other than Zak and Wheezie. And the child riding on them was Enrique, a boy from Colombia. "Ok, here it goes." Wheezie said, rocketing into the sky. Enrique cheered as they flew higher. Zak just closed his eyes with his only hand. The other two dragons, the shy and smart Cassie and the strong and fearful Ord followed their two headed friend. Their riders were young brother and sister, Max and Emmy. Max rode on Ord. Emmy on Cassie. "Whee!" Max exclaimed with joy. Ord kept flying until he spotted a Dragon Berry bush in the meadow.

"Ooh, snack time." He said. He flew forward and snapped a bunch of them off of the bush. "Mmmmmmmm, tasty." he said. The others followed in suit. Amora kept watching the figures. She still hid in the shrub, which she noticed was covered in some berries. She plucked one and took a bite. Amora loved the taste. She heard Emmy giggle. "Hey Rod," she said. "save some for us." "Don't worry Emmy." said Cassie "There some more Dragon Berry bushes over there." Cassie pointed to more bushes. Coincidently, it what where Amora was hiding.

"Uh oh." She said. She frantically began to think of a way to stay hidden or find a better hiding place. But before Amora could make a run for it, Cassie and Emmy had already came to her hiding place. She decided to stay as quiet as she could. "Here's a nice bush." Cassie said, and began plucking berries from it.  
Emmy followed in suit, picking and eating the Dragon Berries. Amora began to shiver. She desperately tried to stop. Amora's shivering caused the bush to shake. Cassie noticed this. "Hey," she said. "The bush is shaking." Zak and Wheezie came over to inspect. "Maybe it's trying to tell us not to pick too many berries." said Wheezie.  
"Don't be silly Wheezie." said her brother Zak. "It's obvious someone's hiding inside of it." Amora gasped. Cassie started rifling through the bush's branches. "Now who could be hiding in-?" she said but she stopped. Amora had been caught. Cassie gasped. Amora screamed in fear. "AAHHHH!!!" Cassie screamed, surprised by the stranger. Zak and Wheezie screamed too. "Please don't hurt me." said Amora. Ord and Max came over to see what was going on. "What happened?" Max asked. "Is it a monster?" Ord asked in fear. Amora carefully stepped out. "Hey," she said. "You don't look like chupacabras." "No," said Cassie. "We're dragons."  
"But..." Amora hesitated. "I thought dragons were a myth." "Nope." said Max. "They're real." said Emmy. "And very friendly. _Mui simpatico_." said Enrique. Amora smiled. She decided to introduce herself. "My name is Amora." "Hi Amora." The dragons said. "That's a pretty name." said Wheezie. "I'm Wheezie." "I'm Zak." her brother said. "My name is Cassie." the young pink dragon said. "This is Ord." Max said pointing out his blue buddy. "I'm Max." he added. "My name is Emmy." said the girl. "And this is Enrique." "_Hola_." Enrique greeted. "Um, it's nice to meet all of you." Amora said. "W-where am I?" she asked.  
"This is Dragon Land." said Zak "Where us dragons live." Wheezie added. "I see." Amora said. "I can see this is your first time here." said Cassie. Amora nodded. "It was the same for us when we first came to Dragon Land." said Emmy. "How long have you been here?" Amora asked. "Oh, it feels like forever." said Emmy. "Probably because we've made such good friends here." said Enrique. "You live here?" Amora asked. "No." said Emmy. "We visit here every now and then." "That's cool." said Amora. "So... how did I get here?" she asked. "You must've had a magic dragon scale." Max said. "Definitely." said Emmy. "I did." said Amora. "Mi Abuilita gave it to me." "Cool." Emmy said. Enrique and Max grinned. Amora stood up. The kids gaped. "You're a grown-up." said Max. "Technically yes." said Amora. "But I'm only 19 years old." They smiled. The dragons did too. Then they noticed the time.

"Uh oh, Quetzal wanted to meet with us now. We'll be late." Cassie said. "Who's Quetzal?" Amora asked. "Quetzal's our teacher at the School in the Sky." said Zak. Amora looked up. Wheezie laugh in her usual way, a giggling laugh with a snort. "It's not really in the sky." she said. "I don't follow." Amora said. It confused her greatly. "We'll show you." Max suggested. He crawled onto Ord's "Definitely." said Emmy. She crawled onto Cassie's back. And Enrique got on to Zak and Wheezie's back. Amora looked at them. "Uh oh." said Cassie. "Amora doesn't have someone to ride on." "And it's to far to walk to the School." said Zak. "Looks like I'm stuck here." Amora said. Cassie looked around to see what could help Amora. "Look." she said. She had spotted another dragon coming toward them. Amora looked and saw a gray colored dragon swooping down from the sky. Unlike the dragons Amora had already met, this dragon was an adult so he was taller. He deftly landed on his two feet.  
Amora hid behind Ord for she didn't know him well yet. "Hello." The gray dragon said. "Quetzal sent me to look for you." Amora peeked out from behind Ord. "Who is this?" The gray dragon asked. Amora came out from behind Ord. "This is our new friend Amora." said Ord. "She's a grown-up." said Max. "I see." The gray dragon said. "Hello Amora. I'm Kepha." Amora waved. "Hello." she said. Kepha smiled. "We best be getting off. Don't want to be late."  
Amora approached him. "Uh.. do you mind giving me a lift?" she asked.  
Kepha smiled. "Of course." he said. "Climb on." Amora climbed on to Kepha's back. "You know, this is my first time riding a dragon." she said. Kepha and the others leapt into the sky and took off. Amora held on for dear life. Her eyes were shut tight. "Don't be afraid." said Kepha. Amora shivered in fear. "Please God, don't let me fall." she prayed. They soon landed in front of the School in the Sky, where Quetzal waited for them. "Ah there you are." he said with his Spanish accent. "Hi Quetzal." said Max as he got off of Ord's back. "Hello Max." He said. He then saw Amora. "I see you've brought a new friend." he said.  
Amora was still holding on to Kepha and her eyes were still shut. He chuckled. "Don't worry." Kepha said. "You can hop off now." Amora cautiously did so. She almost fell to the ground but Kepha caught her. "I'm all right." she said, a little embarrassed for her clumsiness. "This is Amora." said Cassie. "She's new here." "And she's a grown-up." said Wheezie. "_Hola_ Amora." said Quetzal as he approached her. "It's nice to meet you." "You speak Spanish?" Amora asked. "_Si, si_." said Quetzal. "I come from Mexico." Amora couldn't help but laugh. She should've guessed. "You know Amora," Quetzal began. "if I'm correct your name means 'love.' "  
Amora smiled and nodded. "My mom gave it to me." she said. Her smile soon became a frown. "What's wrong?" Kepha asked. "My mother." Amora said tearing up. "I lost her and my father when I was little." Kepha frowned. "Oh dear." he said. "I'm sorry to hear that querida." said Quetzal. Amora sniffled. The others were likewise sympathetic. Kepha put a hand on Amora's shoulder in silent support. They stood there in silent support for a few minutes, before Quetzal spoke. "I brought you here because I have dire news." he said. "Oh yeah that's right." said Kepha. "What do you need us for?" Ord asked. "It seems that Kepha's little sister, Avea has fallen ill." said Quetzal. "Oh dear." said Cassie. "How bad is it?" Amora asked. "I hope it's not too bad." Zak said. "If we don't find the medicine she needs, it will be very bad." Quetzal said. "Where can we find it?" Emmy asked.

"I called Dr. Booboogone. She said she might have some." said Quetzal. "I'm afraid I don't." said a somewhat elderly female voice. Everyone looked up to see that Doctor Booboogone herself was flying to where they were. "Dr. Booboogone." Ord cried out. The good dragon doctor landed where the group was. "I'm sorry, but I don't have the medicine that Avea needs." she said. Kepha looked worried. "What's Avea sick with?" Enrique asked. Amora listened intently to the conversation. "I'm afraid she's got Achy Fever." said Dr. Booboogone. "Achy Fever?" Max asked. "It's a sickness only us dragons can get." said Cassie. "Yeah." Zak said. "You get a fever, your arms, legs and wings ache, and you always feel tired." "Not fun." said Wheezie. "Sounds like mono back where I come from." Amora said. "It's not any fun either." "How can we get the medicine for Avea if Dr. Booboogone doesn't have it." Ord asked in worry. "There's another source." the doctor said. "There's a valley, a long way from here, where medicinal herbs and plants grow in abundance." she explained. Dr. Booboogone pulled a chart from her pouch. Amora was surprised to see that like a kangaroo, dragons had pouches. The doctor showed the chart to the others. "These are the exact herbs you need for me to make the medicine." she said. She pointed to each one.

The others watched her, making mental notes of everything they needed. "We need: four green thistle leaves, three ruby red herb roots, 2 yellow sour flowers, and Dragon Berries, three unripe and five ripe." said Dr. Booboogone. "Got it." said Max. He started to got on Ord's back but was stopped. "Wait just a minute." said Dr. Booboogone. "Take this chart with you. So you won't forget what to get. There's also a map on the other side."

"Let's hurry then." Kepha said. "The sooner we fetch them, the sooner she is cured." Amora nodded. The kids leapt onto the backs of their respective dragons. Amora cautiously climbed back onto Kepha's. "Don't worry Amora." said Kepha with a warm smile. "I won't anything bad happen to you." "Thanks." She said. She felt a little better knowing that this dragon was looking out for her. They took off. "Good luck _Niños_." Quetzal called out. "And welcome to Dragon Land Amora." "Gracias Quetzal." said Amora. She soon realized that her eyes weren't close when Kepha was flying. "Wow." She said, looking out at the valley below. "It's beautiful." "Not so afraid now Amora?" Kepha asked. "No, I'm not." Amora said. She smiled. "I guess it just takes a little getting used too." Kepha chuckled.

Amora laughed along. Looking back, she felt silly for being so afraid. Zak and Wheezie flew next to them. Enrique on their back. "I remember my first time in Dragon Land." he said to Amora. "I was kind of scared myself." "Really?" Amora asked. "_Si_ it's true." said Enrique. "But I made friends here and love coming here as well." Amora smiled. She was starting to like this place as well. Plus, it seemed to be a lot better than where really lived. Amora looked at the others flying beside her. The dragons looked so graceful in flight, each one staring straight ahead, completely focused. She marveled at how smoothly they took to the skies. One would think such bulky creatures were clumsy flyers. Not so.

She yawned. She began to feel a little tired. Making sure to keep a firm grip, she lay her head down on Kepha's shoulder, and soon drifted off into a cozy sleep. As Amora fell asleep, Kepha looked back for a little bit. "You know," he thought to himself. "She's awful lovely for a…" He began. Kepha shook his head. "Stop thinking like that, she's a human and you're a dragon." He scolded himself. "Still, very beautiful... GAH!!!" He shook his head and refocused on flying.


End file.
